The Swan
From Lostpedia
The Arrow • The Staff • The Swan
The Flame • The Pearl • The Hydra
The Looking Glass • The Tempest
The Swan a.k.a. the Hatch, was DHARMA Initiative station number 3, accidentally discovered by Locke and Boone. According to the Orientation Film, the Swan was originally a laboratory "where scientists could work to understand the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the Island". However, after an "Incident", a protocol had to be followed in which two people would take shifts pressing a button (inputting the Numbers into a computer) every 108 minutes for 540 days, at the end of which replacements would arrive to take the place of the previous inhabitants. Having been imploded following a system failure and fail-safe activation, a large crater now resides in its place, located in the south-western region of the Island, about a mile inland of the crash of Flight 815.
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History
Season 1
During the first season of Lost (mainly the second half), the main focus was gaining access to the Swan, which was (and still is) referred to as "the Hatch", and this was achieved in "Exodus, Part 2" when Jack, Kate, Locke and Hurley brought back dynamite from the Black Rock. Just as they are setting up the dynamite, Hurley sees the Numbers engraved on the side of the Hatch, and rushes to prevent the explosion, but is pulled away to safety. The Hatch door is blown off and the episode ends with Locke and Jack looking down into the long shaft inside the Hatch.
The Hatch
"The Hatch" was first discovered by complete accident by Locke and Boone when a flashlight was dropped and the sound of metal was heard from under the foliage covering the ground. ("All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues") They proceeded to dig it up, without telling anyone until much later in the first season. Their first attempt at opening it was with the construction of a large trebuchet, designed to swing a large piece of plane shrapnel at the Hatch door. This plan backfired, however, when a sharp piece of the shrapnel broke off and buried itself into Locke's leg. The second attempt was successful, using the dynamite obtained from the Black Rock. The inside of the Hatch door (not visible from the outside) has "QUARANTINE" spray-painted on it. The word "hatch" has also been used to refer to the entrances to other DHARMA stations.
Season Two
In the second season of Lost, the losties ventured in, finding Desmond, a food supply, a living space, and a strange computer in the "dome". Jack and Locke eventually decided to create a shift system comprising of two people in the Swan at once, taking shifts pushing the button, with Locke believing it had significant importance. However, after Locke and Mr. Eko discovered the Pearl Orientation Video, Locke lost all faith in the button, being led to believe it was all a psychological experiment.
Meanwhile the gun vault of the station served as imprisonment of the false Henry Gale. Jack and the others discussed what should be done.
Eko on the other hand, felt that pushing the button was more important than anything. Later, Locke recruited Desmond in a plan to not enter the Numbers. Mr. Eko's protests, however, are all in vain when he is shut out when Desmond activates the blast doors. The Countdown Timer ran out, causing a system failure, and the Numbers flipped to the five hieroglyphs. It caused what seemed to be an earthquake. All the objects made of metal soon flew against the wall, attracted to something with an extremely powerful magnetic force. Locke realized that the Button did something after all, as did Desmond, who acted by entering the crawlspace underneath the floor of the Swan, and using the fail-safe to activate the "discharge". The Swan was completely destroyed.
Season Three
A gaping crater is left in the place where the Hatch used to be. It is unknown whether or not the whole of the Swan, or just part of it, was destroyed due to Desmond using the fail-safe, but it is possible that the Swan will not be revisited in the future. ("Further Instructions") In "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead" Hurley discovers a DHARMA van with plans for a dirt road leading to the Swan station. The dead occupant of the van is wearing a work man jump suit with a Swan logo patch.
DHARMA Initiative
It is unknown if DHARMA personnel were required to live in the bunker prior to the Incident, but the protocol that resulted from it required habitational shifts of 540 days. Roger Linus was found dead wearing a Swan jumpsuit in the DHARMA van, but it is not certain if he was an inhabitant.
When Radzinsky arrived is unknown, but his fellow partner Kelvin Inman arrived sometime after the Gulf War in 1991. At some point in time, while Kelvin was sleeping, Radzinsky shot himself in the head in the living space of the Swan, leaving Kelvin to live alone until Desmond crashed onto the Island with his sailboat in 2001. Kelvin and Desmond were hatch-mates for three years until, on the day of the crash of Flight 815, Desmond accidentally killed Kelvin at the cove. Desmond lived alone for 44 days before the survivors made their way down into the Hatch. After Desmond fled, Locke and Jack spent considerable time in the Swan, as did Mr. Eko, Michael and Kate.
See also: station explorers
The Others
The Others seemed to have little awareness of the purpose or function of the Swan station. However, shortly after the castaways entered the Swan, the Others became aware of what they had done. On November 7, 2004 (three days after the castaways entered the Swan) Tom is known to have used the Pearl to observe the interior of the Swan. Two days later, Ben and Juliet visited the Pearl to briefly observe Jack. Ben at that time outlined a plan which suggests strongly that the Others were able to send messages to the Swan computer from an unknown location. The messages were directed at Michael.
In the March 20, 2007 Official Lost Podcast, Carlton Cuse confirmed that The Others had no knowledge of the Swan station. Hence, Radzinsky, Kelvin Joe Inman, and/or Desmond were not killed during the Purge in which the Others killed off all the DHARMA Initiative workers. During Ben's period of captivity at the Swan, there was a "lockdown" event in which the blast doors inside the swan lowered. Locke was pinned under the blast door and sent Ben through the vent system to push the button. At first, Ben claimed to have pushed the button. But later he told Locke that he had not pushed the button and nothing had happened. He said the station was a joke. What exactly Ben did or did not do during the lockdown has not been revealed. During or shortly after the lockdown, supplies were dropped by parachute to the Swan.
The Station
The Swan was originally conceived and designed as a scientific laboratory, but because the protocol had to be adopted following the incident, the interior and architecture had elements that were suited for scientific use as well as sustainable livability. Dating from the 1970's, the subterranean station was found to still have the conveniences and technology from that era when the survivors discovered it. The layout can be roughly divided into three main sections: the computer room, the living space, and the entrance corridor.
Entrances
There were two entrances to the Swan on opposite ends of the main entrance corridor: a steel hatch atop a long vertical shaft, and a walk-in door with the Swan logo on the outside. Along the entrance corridor, a broken section of the wall was filled in with a large amount of concrete, sealing off what remained of the "incident". It exhibited a high degree of magnetic attraction to metals, such as Jack's key and Eko's cross.
Computer room
Enclosed in a geodesic dome apart from the main living area, the computer room was where the occupants of the station would carry out their responsibility of pushing the button. Situated in the middle of the room was the Swan computer, into which the code had to be entered every 108 minutes, according to the protocol set forth in the Orientation film. Around the perimeter of the room were various other machines, including mainframe computer components, reel-to-reel tape drive units, and two oscilloscopes. A countdown timer on the wall displayed the remaining time to enter the Numbers.
In a crawlspace below the computer room, accessible via a grate in the floor, was the fail-safe, a mechanism which would terminate the electromagnetic anomaly that the protocol was meant to discharge. It was Desmond's activation of the fail-safe after Locke destroyed the computer that caused the entire station to implode.
Living space
The living space was where the occupants of the station could spend their time, and encompassed a larger area than the other parts of the Swan. It had many conveniences for its inhabitants: a bedroom with bunk beds; a bathroom with a shower, sink, and running hot water (noted by Kate to have a sulfur smell); exercise equipment; a telescope (used in conjunction with a mirror surveillance system); a washer and dryer (seemingly newer than everything else); a dining nook; a center kitchen area equipped with an oven, stove top, and sink; and a lounge area, including a record player, LP collection, literature, and a ping-pong table.
Pantry
Opposite the lounge area of the living space was the pantry, where all the food was stored. The shelves were well stocked with food from the pallet drop, including Apollo Candy Bars, DHARMA Ranch Composite and Peanut Butter.
See also: Food
Gun vault
Abutting the lounge area of the living space was a gun vault, which contained a wide array of weapons, including pistols, semi-automatic rifles, bolt action rifles, assault weapons and shotguns. The door had a combination lock, which was changed several times by Locke. After it was emptied of the guns, the gun vault served as a holding cell for Ben.
Blast door
Inside the Swan were a series of blast doors which could seal off the living space and the computer room during a lockdown procedure. A message would sound over the speakers notifying of the upcoming event, after which the blast doors would descend and the electrical power would be interrupted as the lights flickered.
A lockdown incident unexpectedly occurred while the survivors were holding Ben prisoner, during which Locke's legs were crushed by the blast door near the mural. After he sent Ben to crawl through the vents to push the button, the lights went out completely and a different set of ultraviolet 'black' lights came on, revealing on the surface of the blast door a large hand-drawn map supplemented with numerous equations and notations written in English and Latin. ("Lockdown")
Kelvin told Desmond that Radzinsky figured out how to fake a lockdown by touching two bare wires together, forcing the blast doors to come down, which would allow him (and later Kelvin) to deliberately work on the blast door map. Desmond later triggered the blast doors to come down as part of his and Locke's plan to keep Eko out of the computer room and to not push the button. After they did this, Locke destroyed the computer, Desmond triggered the fail-safe, and the entire Swan imploded. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
See also: Blast door map geography, Blast door map notations, Blast door map timeline, Blast door map equations, and Locke's map
Mural
Along the wall between the entrance corridor and the living area was a large mural, created by Desmond. (Secrets From the Hatch) Painted in an expressionist style, it contained an assortment of images and writing, including the numbers 108 and 42 (relating to the countdown timer and input code), a sailing vessel, an arrow, and pictures of a black man and caucasian woman.
Found in the Swan
- Other
- Swan Orientation film
- CR 4-81516-23 42 (the unknown injection substance)
- Desmond's photograph
- HAZMAT suit
- Joshua Tree Print
- Hieroglyphs
- For a list of records and music played in the Swan, see record player
Swan Orientation film
The Swan contained an orientation film, produced in 1980 by the Hanso Foundation, that described the origin and purpose of the station to its inhabitants. In the film, which was kept behind The Turn of the Screw, Dr. Marvin Candle gave a brief overview of the founding of the DHARMA Initiative and explained that the station was originally intended to study electromagnetism, but that an incident occurred which altered its intended purpose. He went on to explain the protocol, which was to be followed by the station inhabitants in the wake of the incident. ("Orientation")
After the reunification of the Flight 815 tail section survivors and middle section survivors, Mr. Eko revealed a cut-out piece of the film to Locke, which he had discovered in another DHARMA Initiative station, the Arrow. In this piece, Dr. Candle explained that the computer should only be used for entering the code every 108 minutes, and that using the computer for communicating with the outside world would compromise the project and possibly lead to another incident. ("What Kate Did")
Electromagnetism
During normal conditions, the Swan is adjacent to a strong magnetic field, which is noticeably stronger near the Mural. A section has been sealed off with concrete that is several feet thick. The magnetic source behind the concrete is strong enough to attract the key around Jack's neck. The Swan Orientation Film indicates that the original purpose of the Swan was to study or regulate these magnetic properties. On several occasions, the field has grown to immense strengths during "system failures".
Underneath the floor of the computer room, there is a fail-safe mechanism. It appears that Desmond's activation of the fail-safe caused a drastic change in the magnetic field, resulting in the discharge. When Desmond does this, he is seemingly transported, possibly also through time, and is found by Hurley in the jungle.
What is encased behind the wall is unknown.
Name
- The names of the stations seem to be related to Apollo from Greek mythology. Swans are sacred to Apollo. Swans circled around him when he was born.
- In Hinduism, the Sanskrit word for swan is hamsa or hansa, and it is the vehicle of many deities like the goddess Saraswati.
- In Irish mythology, the Children of lir were trapped inside a swan.
- The SWAN is also a constellation. Cygnus, the Swan, is also known as the Northern Cross because of it's distinctive shape. The tail of the swan is marked by the bright star Deneb, Arabic for "tail". Three fainter stars cross the line between Deneb and the head of the swan, Albireo.
Lost: Via Domus: the Incident Room
| Non-Canon alert! This article/section contains information that was shown or released via an official source such as ARG's, or extended media (video games, books), however it has no canonical merit to the overall Lost mythos. |
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Trivia
- According to the Season 2 DVD featurette Secrets from the Hatch, the Swan interior was originally inspired by Tomorrowland at Disneyworld (how people in the 70s might picture the future).
- On the DVDs, Damon Lindelof says "the function of the Hatch, what it is built for, is because there was this accident here. Basically, if you were to perceive the fact that the Hatch is a structure that is essentially a big thumb, and that thumb is sticking in a dyke. And that dyke is holding back this massive electromagnetic anomaly that is just sort of illustrated on the other side of this wall that makes Jack's key rise. That's what the design is."
- According to the Blu-Ray Exclusive Feature Access Granted of Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD), DHARMA drilled the earth and hit an area with large contained electromagnetic buildup. They broke into the anomaly which allowed the field to leak out. The Swan was built over this area to act as a sort of cork. DHARMA then came up with a scheme to "dam' the leak but with the drawback that the field built up behind the dam and would eventually break it. The failsafe permanently "sealed" the leak.
- The only time a survivor has referred to the Hatch as "the Swan" is when Eko referred to it when looking at Locke's map. ("?") Every other time, it has been referred to as the Hatch.
- The set dressing of the Swan is somewhat different between the opening scene of Man of Science, Man of Faith and subsequent appearances. This included things such as the type and placement of lamps, the style of record player and arrangement of records, and the relative cleanliness of the living quarters. These discrepancies led some fans to conclude that there were two separate timelines. In reality the producers simply decided to dress the Swan differently between its first appearance and subsequent ones.
- Of all the season 2 main cast, only Claire and Shannon never appeared in any scenes in the Swan.
Blueprints
- A number of blueprints of the design of the Swan Station interior are found on the Season 2 DVD special featurette, Secrets From the Hatch (more at that page). There also appears to be a blueprint on the DHARMA van road map.
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- A floor plan blueprint appears in issue 1.10 of Lost: The Official Magazine in an advertisement for a free poster that comes with subscribing.
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Swan/Theories
- What happened inside the Swan during the incident?
- After the incident, how was the electromagnetic energy discharged until the number protocol was introduced?
- Did the concrete wall rupture during The Discharge/or the Implosion?
- What was the purpose of the Hatch door?
- Why was it sealed and the ladder inside the shaft broken?
- Why were there 2 floppy drives (old 5 1/2 drives) and a box full of disks in the computer room?
- What was the exact cause of the Swan's implosion?
- Or did it explode? Some of the objects found in the Swan, such as the ping pong table, dart board and some LP records were found outside the crater.
- During the Swan's last moments, which phenomena were caused by the button not getting pushed and which by the failsafe being activated?
- Is any of the interior still intact after the implosion?
- What will be the long-term consequences of the discharge for the Island?
See also
